The Quarter-2-2026 issue of alphaZ OUT has now been published
alphaZ-OUT is a quarterly publication which provides an overview of new, updated and pending legislation as well as providing an Outlook on Updates and Trends for business and providers in the ISO certification sector.
As well as a comprehensive listing of new and updated legislation, provided in a table format - so details of relevant legislation can be more readily copied over to your legal register, this issue also included a number of feature articles;
Outlook
- Warning Signs for Business Risk - health and safety has had a common visual language for decades, but business risk never has; we have created a set of business risk icons (orange hexagons for risks, green circles for controls and red rings for prohibited actions) built for the F-Q36 General Organisational Risk Assessment and released as a free download to use in your own registers, whatever format they take
- Too Hot to Work? The Law Might Be Catching Up - there is a legal minimum workplace temperature in the UK but no legal maximum; in May the Climate Change Committee formally recommended maximum working temperature regulations, and with the duty to protect workers from heat already in place, your risk assessments should say something about it
Updates
- The Employment Rights Act 2025 - Phased Changes Implemented and Still to Come - the first waves are already in force from February and April 2026 (including day-one statutory sick pay and the new Fair Work Agency), with further phases due in August and October 2026 and into 2027; this issue sets them out as a planner
- ISO Standards Updates - A Landmark Quarter for Revisions - ISO 14001:2026 was published on 15 April 2026, the first full revision in over a decade, and this issue carries a full clause-by-clause feature on what has changed and the three-year transition; ISO 19011:2026 auditing guidelines have also been published, and ISO 9001:2026 remains on track for autumn
- Health and Safety Updates - Stress and Engineered Stone - the HSE recorded 964,000 workers affected by work-related stress in 2024/25, the highest since records began, and has made clear that dry cutting of engineered stone is not an acceptable way of working, with fabricator inspections expected over the coming year
- alphaZ document update summary - 83 COSHH assessments updated to the new F-HS5 form, new example risk assessments (roofing, NRSWA street works and car transporter operations), the ISO 14001:2026 environmental forms and toolkits including the F-IMS60 Environmental Aspects Register and F-ENV6 Life Cycle review, the new F-IMS62 Carbon Management Plan and ER34 Environmental Performance Register, and the updated F-Q36 General Risk Assessment with 32 new example business risk assessments
Trends
- On-site vs Remote Audits - Which is Better? - ISO 19011:2026 now embeds remote and hybrid auditing across the whole audit lifecycle; the format should be decided when the audit programme is designed and justified against the objectives and risks, not on the morning of the audit
- How AI Could Change ISO Audits - AI is finding its way into auditing, and new standards (ISO 42001:2023 for AI management systems and ISO 42006:2025 for the bodies that certify them) are starting to shape how audit and AI come together
UK Legislation Updates
- Upcoming / pending UK legislation - overview of bills and pending legislation including the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill and the Artificial Intelligence (Regulation) Bill, along with the plastic wet wipes bans and the preparatory provisions for Martyn's Law
- New and Updated UK legislation - all applicable legislation enacted in the last 12 months, including the Employment Rights Act 2025, the Mental Health Act 2025 and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025
- Other Relevant Legislation / Regulations - other and non-UK changes including the EU AI Act, the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the National Minimum Wage increase and the new umbrella company PAYE liability
Enforcement Data
- Recent fines and enforcement action from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), including a £53,000 fine for an egg farm after a worker was trapped in machinery and a prosecution following a death on a construction site
- Overview of action and fines from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), including a £963,900 fine for South Staffordshire Water following a major data breach affecting 633,887 people
- Overview of action from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), including a new draft Code of Practice on the Equality Act 2010 laid in Parliament
- Overview of action and fines from the Environment Agency (EA) and Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), including South West Water pleading guilty to six years of pollution offences and a Lancashire company fined £30,400 for illegal plastic waste exports
Other News
- Unexpected rise in UK unemployment, up from 4.9% to 5% between January and March 2026
- A £4 million funding boost for business debt advice services over the next three years
- ISO 32212:2026 published - net zero transition planning for financial institutions
- Global Action Plan marks Clean Air Day and the health impacts of air pollution
- A new Mental Health Joint Code of Practice for the construction sector
- Scotland set to introduce a deposit return scheme in 2027
alphaZ-OUT is emailed to all update service subscribers and can also be downloaded from the alphaZ subscribers area
For access to all alphaZ Documents, including the subscriber area which features sample data files such as registers, audits, risk assessments and a full sample UK legal register as well as monthly health and safety updates and quarterly issues of alphaZ OUT - purchase a subscription today.
